


Stars and Paddles

by CampeDiem



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Because no one’s done that for Gwenvid yet, Canoe Trip, F/M, Fluff, Stargazing, gwenvid - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 04:34:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16381499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CampeDiem/pseuds/CampeDiem
Summary: It’s the end of another another tiring day, so David and Gwen decide to relax and unwind by taking a little ride in a canoe around the lake to enjoy the starry night.





	Stars and Paddles

**Author's Note:**

> Another fun Gwenvid fic - this one with them taking little canoe ride around the lake. Why canoeing? It’s something I hadn’t seen a fic do before and I figured it’s exactly the sort of thing David would do. It does make some mentions of my prior fic A Humid Night, but not so many that you have to read it before this one. That being said, feel free to check it out as well if you haven’t already!

At this hour there were only two people awake at Camp Campbell, putting a tarp over the source of their latest misadventure. The wooden apparatus was a large frame supporting a lever arm with a cloth pouch on end end and a counterweight on the other – a trebuchet. After safely covering it in a spot out of the way from the main campground, the two adults took a moment to collect themselves after yet another hectic day.

“A trebuchet – a fucking trebuchet,” Gwen said. “I mean, I’m kinda impressed they pulled it off but honestly, where do the kids get these ideas?”

“I suppose the project showed the campers have learned a lot about teamwork,” David added. “If only they had used what they built for a nicer purpose.”

“David, let’s be real – they used this for exactly what it’s designed for.” 

Being a trebuchet, what it was designed for was delivering payloads on a target several hundred feet away. In this case, Nikki, Neil and Max had rigged it with several paint filled balloons and decided to target the nearby Flower Scout camp. David and Gwen had only discovered this fact after they fired it, as they saw the balloons sail over their heads and off into the distance. They’d found the kids near the rig, gathered around Max’s phone and laughing their heads off. 

“That was amazing!” Nikki cheered.

“Fucking nice shot Neil!” Max added. 

“See, anything’s possible with perfect calculations!” Neil boasted. 

“What the hell?!” Gwen cried out loud, startling the kids. On seeing they’d been found out they each bolted in a different direction. It was only by cornering Neil that they got him to fess up. The three of them had swiped the materials from the theatre storage and used plans from the internet to build the thing. They (or rather, Neil had) worked out the math for aiming and decided their first test run would be against the Flower Scouts. Nikki told them the girls usually had an outdoor assembly at some point during the day and so they launched a quadcopter Max had gotten last week - yet another illicit purchase with David’s credit card – and set its camera to stream video to watch the Flower Scouts. Once they saw where their targets were gathered, they fired and watched the pandemonium unfold. The only way they were able to convince David and Gwen to not demolish the thing then and there was by claiming that they really wanted it to defend themselves against another possible Woodscout raid. It was a good enough excuse to sell Gwen on the idea, at least.

And so the counsellors decided to stow it away out of sight to discourage any unnecessary use.

“So what do we do if the Flower Scouts do come asking about it?” David asked.

“Honestly, I say we blame the Woodscouts – they’re crazy enough to pull a prank like this,” Gwen replied.

“Maybe… though I really don’t like fibbing.” 

“Then let me do the talking,” she offered, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He still seemed a little uncomfortable about the idea, glancing to the side before his bright green eyes met hers. She let him pull her into a hug, resting into his chest. He gave her a soft kiss on her head while she nuzzled into his shirt. 

“Thanks Gwen, I can always count on you,” he said, gently rubbing his back with his hand.

“No problem – only question now is what should we do with the rest of our night?” she asked.

He thought for a moment before an idea he’d been wanting to try popped into his head. “Hey, how about this? You go grab the life jackets and meet me at the dock. I’ll grab the canoe and we will just take a quick trip around the lake.”

She chuckled and broke off the hug. “The lake is so small though – do we really need the jackets?” His grin flattened and he cocked an eyebrow to show his disapproval. “Alright, alright, I’ll get them.” This brought his wide grin back and got her one more quick hug before he shot off towards the shore.

The walk to the equipment shed was a quiet one, but Gwen had come to appreciate the peace the nights would bring from whatever insanity happened during the day. The last few weeks in particular had been fun after she and David had started being together. She considered it dating but David was still reluctant to use that word just because they hadn’t properly gone out somewhere yet. That surprised her a bit, considering they’d done a bunch of stuff she thought David would consider a date, like enjoying a campfire together while he gently practiced his guitar, taking a stroll in the woods together, or even a night in with some snacks and TV. Granted, he still had a bit of awkwardness on the romance side, but she just chalked that up to inexperience on his part. She could tell that he was genuinely trying, and combined with his honest nature meant that he never pulled any tricks or games. She always got the real, genuine David.

_“He’s just trying to be proper about it all - and he did say he wants to take me out for real after camp ends, so I’ve got that to look forward to.”_

She reached the equipment shed and found the life jackets hanging to the side. If someone had told her at the beginning of summer she’d be excited about a nighttime canoe ride she’d have thought they were nuts. After all, why would a city girl like her want to hop in a wobbly canoe in the middle of the night when there was the drama of teen moms in prison to be entertained by? That was then though, and now she was eagerly donning a life jacket and grabbing a second before walking back to the docks. Maybe it was just being with David, maybe it was the chance to unwind after a stressful day. Either way, her outlook now was a far cry from the woman who had answered the classified ad and started the job that had initially been far from her first choice of work. How things had changed over the summer…

David had already grabbed an oar and had dropped the canoe in the water, holding it alongside the dock. “Here, you take the front seat and I’ll handle the steering from the rear.” 

He extended his hand and helped steady her as she stepped in, staying low to avoid tipping the canoe. He followed soon after and kicked off the dock, giving them a slow start from the shore. 

At about fifty feet out from the dock, David turned the canoe parallel to the shore, his confident, measured strokes showing his experience with handling the craft. The moon hung above as a bright crescent, providing just enough light to let them navigate in the dark – not that there were any obstacles on the flat water that surrounded them on all sides. 

Gwen paused her paddling and took a deep breath of the crisp night air. Out here there were no campers to bother her, no biting insects and nothing to set off her anxieties. It was just her and David, quietly drifting through the night. The only sound was the gentle chirp of crickets, and the occasional lapping of David’s paddle in the water. Even he seemed to be enjoying the silence, taking care to ensure his paddle strokes were as gentle as possible. The water before them was like glass, with no wind to disturb the surface and leaving only a solid sheet. She decided to put her paddle down in the canoe and – with great care – spun herself around to face David, seating herself on the floor of the boat while leaning on the front seat that stretched between the gunnels. 

Her new view showed even the gliding canoe left ripples in their wake, spreading out from either side in an unbroken line before eventually fading, returning the lake to its pristine flatness. Her eyes were already adjusting to the dark, and she could faintly discern the shore from the water, the trees surrounding the lake like a dark wall. She leaned back to see that above the trees was the night sky in all its glory, each star twinkling brightly in the inky sky. Gwen could even make out the brighter band of the Milky Way, stretching across the sky as far as she could see.

“Oh wow,” she said, “This was a good idea.”

“Glad you like it,” he replied, stopping his paddling as well to take in the scenery. He brought his gaze skyward, taking in the stars glinting above them.

“Certainly don’t get views like this in my city,” she added.

“Yeah… it kinda reminds me of the first night we went stargazing, just the two of us,” he continued. 

“You mean the night where you suddenly showed off how smooth you could be?” she replied, chuckling a bit.

 “Yeah…” he said, chuckling a bit as he thought back on that night a few weeks ago.

——————

Being from the city, she thought she knew what a starry night was like and that all the talk of it being better in the country was just the exaggeration of rural folks trying to justify living out in the middle of nowhere. Her first night at Camp Campbell had proved her very wrong.

The sky seemed to come alive with more light than she ever thought possible. Any chance she got she would take a moment to just gaze up and see if there was anything new to the nightly show – something David noticed after awhile. 

 _“_ Hey, you wanna go somewhere with a better view?”

It was after the campers had been sent to bed, so she knew they could wander off for a little bit. He led her through a few winding paths through the woods, gradually climbing a hill until they emerged into an open field near the top. Walking a bit farther, they went around to the far side of the rise, which was completely open and afforded a breathtaking view of the sky above, with the dark woods and the still waters of Lake Lilac below. 

“Wow…”

They found a spot to sit near the summit and just took in the night sky. There was no breeze that night, so the only sound was the occasional rustle of a small forest critter or the hoot of an owl, right before it swooped down on whatever was rustling on the ground to turn it into dinner.

“I thought you’d like it – you can even see the Milky Way tonight,” he added, pointing towards the brighter streak of stars stretching across the entire sky.

They sat in silence for a moment, just taking it all in. It had been a stressful few days with the camper’s antics, so she really appreciated the break. There were no crises, no screaming or chasing down the tiny terrors, just peace. Finding moments like this seemed to be David’s forte whenever he was with her.

“This is so cool – how did you find this spot?” 

“Just by wandering around exploring the place when I was a teenager. It sorta became my own little hideaway,” he explained. “I’d come here some times when I just needed a moment to myself. This is actually the first time I brought someone who I…”

He left his mouth open a bit, as if to continue, but suddenly shut it and turned away.

“Well I’m glad you brought me here – you always have good ideas for downtime after a rough day,” she continued, thinking of all the evenings they’d been able to hang out and unwind. Whether it was a night with the TV, or just talking about whatever was on their minds, she’d come to enjoy the evenings with him – a far cry from the first week where she found everything about him annoying.

Reaching up she pulled her hair tie off to let her ponytail free. He glanced over at the movement and let himself stare as her hair settled around her shoulders.

She took a deep breath of the night air, feeling all the worries and anxiety of the day fade away. Over this summer David had probably become the best friend she’d had since college, and she let herself lean to the side onto his arm. They’d worked and lived together for a good chunk of the summer, and the familiarity meant small gestures like that from her weren’t unusual by now. It also meant that she had no problem with him reaching around to gently place his hand on her shoulder. In turn, she wrapped one arm around his skinny back to hold his waist.

“I’m glad you like this spot too,” he said. “It’s a great night… and I’ve got great company.” He looked to her and she met his gaze.

“Yeah, I’m glad I’ve got someone to protect me from the bears,” she joked.

“Well the trick with them is to make yourself seem big and noisy to scare them.”

“That’s better than my plan – I was just gonna throw you at them as a diversion then run,” she chuckled.

“Haha very funny,” he scoffed, “I doubt it’d be that easy to throw me, I’m a lot heavier than I look.”

“Yeah? We’ll see about that,” she said, getting up. He stood with her and let her try to lift him. She tried under his arms but despite straining hard, he wouldn’t budge off the ground. Changing gears, she wrapped her arms tight around his waist and heaved. She managed to get him a couple inches off the ground, but soon the strain was too much and she stumbled a bit when dropping him back down. Fortunately he grabbed hold of her shoulders to steady her and she started to laugh again.

“Geez what did you have for breakfast, cement?” she chuckled. “Thanks though.”

“Of course – I’ll always look out for ya,” he said, adding a small laugh of his own. 

“Is that why you’re still holding on?” she asked. 

His hands were still on her shoulders, but he quickly raised them. “Sorry, I just thought… you were still holding onto me…”

“Yeah, I am,” she said, keeping her arms around his waist. She couldn’t explain it, but it just felt right to hold onto him at that moment, and maybe even take a step further. “Don’t worry, I was okay with it. You can put them back.”

He let his hands return to her shoulders. He felt like he was on a diving board before making the jump. “Just a shot in the dark here...no pun intended-” She giggled a bit at his joke, putting him a bit more at ease. “But through the summer, we’ve gotten to know each other a lot and... well we’re okay with stuff like this and hanging out... I guess I’m curious what else you’re okay with?”

She smiled a bit. “Surprise me…” 

He tentatively leaned in, hesitating a moment before placing a quick kiss on her nose. He retreated to gauge her reaction.

She chuckled at his restraint. “I think you missed a bit there – need some help finding your way?” she added, leaning up closer to him.

“No, I think I’ve got it now,” he replied, leaning in to meet her in a soft kiss. He pulled her closer, happy to have finally taken the plunge.

Neither of them knew how long they had been out there, but she eventually broke off to give them both a breather. “I don’t think we’re going to be getting any more stargazing in, eh?”

“Yeah, we should get to bed.” 

“Or… we could continue where we left off at the cabin. I’ll leave it up to you,” she said, winking.

——————

“I won’t lie… I was already holding quite a crush on you by that point,” he sheepishly added, snapping her out of the memory.

“I kinda figured,” she said.

“What gave it away?”

“Not really any one thing – just a bunch of smaller things… things that were pretty adorable actually. Mostly how affectionate you got as the summer went on, or how you always tried your hardest to make my days better.” she leaned her head back to take in the sight of the night sky, letting her mind wander with a content expression on her face. “By the way this thing is amazing compared to the crappy rowboats the camp usually uses,” she added.

“Well, the canoe is technically mine. I saved up for it a few years back and Mr. Campbell lets me bring it here for the season,” David added.

“Woah, really? So before me did you take all your lady friends on nighttime cruises in this thing?” she teased, winking at him.

He just blushed. “Well, uh… not really… didn’t get a chance… things weren’t like us… like, you know… not as far enough.”

“Hey, don’t sweat it – I’m happy to be the first.”

“Yeah – plus I couldn’t have asked for a better night to go out like this,” he added. “It’s perfect – the air, the sounds, no wind-“

“No nosy campers getting up in our business,” she added.

“Yeah…” David sighed. For the most part they had managed to keep their relationship discrete, but a chance night with Max sneaking around meant he had caught them together one evening. They had wondered if the following morning would see their cover blown, but everything went on as normal. That meant one of two things: either Max kept their secret like David had asked, or he did tell but no one cared, like Gwen sort of predicted. Either way the news hadn’t reached the recently returned Mr. Campbell – he’d carried on as usual under the terms of his probation. However, even if he did find out he likely wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. For all intents and purposes Gwen and David were in charge now – just with no increase in pay or decrease in the work load. And so the summer continued, with Gwen and David keeping up appearances during the day for running the camp, while enjoying the moments they could together during the evening.

“I’m just happy Max only caught us kissing and nothing more,” he added, looking out towards the water. “I don’t know what I’d do if he saw us being more… intimate.”

“Yeah, my best excuse would have been we were playing twister or something like that,” Gwen added. David looked back at her, quiet at first, before he let out a soft chuckle.

“But you’re enjoying the night?” he asked.

“Yep, I’d say this night is almost perfect,” she replied.

“Almost? What’s wrong?”

“I’m over here and you’re way over there,” she answered, scooting over to the side and waving her hand to invite him over.

“Well I can’t have you having a less than perfect night, can I? Hang on, give me a sec.” He drove the paddle in the water in strong stroke, starting to turn the canoe around. A few more strokes and he had it turned back around towards the camp, giving one last gentle stroke to start them moving again before putting the paddle down on the floor of the boat. “There, now we’ll still get more or less back to camp even without me paddling.”

Squatting down to keep the canoe from tipping he shuffled over to her, settling down beside her. The narrowness of the canoe meant they were pressed up snug against each other but that suited them just fine. Once David had his arm around her shoulders and her head rested on his shoulder, then it was perfect. Even the bulk of their life jackets didn’t ruin the moment. 

David reached his arm up and gently ran his fingers through her hair, lingering a bit around the hair tie that held her ponytail up. She didn’t have to say anything, just a nod and he slipped the elastic off, freeing her hair to fall around his arm.

While his one arm was around her, he reached his other hands for hers, intertwining their fingers. His hands were a bit sweaty from the work of paddling but his grip was gentle and comforting to her.

He leaned in for the first kiss, soft on her cheek. He gave a second, then a third, before she turned in to return it. She felt his fingers give a slight squeeze on hers, while his thumb idly stroked her hand. He gave a small sigh through the kiss, showing his contentment. They broke off for a moment but did not pull away, letting their noses brush against each other.

He had a goofy grin on his face and his green eyes seemed to shine in the night, full of life and joy. When she’d first met him, she found his overbearing cheer to be annoying, thinking he was either nuts or on something. But it was neither – it was just him and his joyful outlook on life. He wasn’t naïve though – he knew the world wasn’t perfect and there were so many uphill battles, but if anything that seemed to spur him on. In a world of cynics he seemed determined to fight to make the world – or at least his little part of it - a better place. It took awhile her for to come to appreciate that part of him, but the more she saw of his efforts the more she saw how genuine he was in every part of his life, whether it was his desire to help the campers… or his feelings for her.

For him, the dim light made it hard to see the colour in her eyes, a rich violet. She was the only person he knew to have eyes like that and as far as he knew, they were all natural. He hadn’t noticed any contact lens cases on her side of the bathroom, and he didn’t feel right to pry about them. She leaned into his shoulder, giving it a small rub with her cheek. She was smiling too, just enough to show a slight dimple on her cheek. It was more subdued, much like everything about her, but she didn’t need showy displays for him to know how she was feeling. He loved seeing her like this - so much more at ease compared to the grouchy girl he’d met when she started working here. 

He pulled his hand free and reached around to the small of her back, pulling her as close as their lifejackets would allow and into a deeper kiss. With her free hand she reached around his back to hold him close, wishing the bulky jackets weren’t between them. She felt his breathing become heavier, stronger than what she would’ve expected from his slim frame.

“How’s that?” he asked.

“Mmm very nice,” she replied, “Though I wouldn’t mind if your hand was a bit lower.” 

“Oh?” He moved his hand slightly lower, just at the edge of her life jacket, near the hem of her shorts. “Like that?”

“Don’t be a tease, you know what I meant,” she added, cocking her eyebrow.

He rolled his eyes, but she had him, and so slid his hand down further to gently cup her behind. She wasn’t the only one who could be cheeky though. He extended his thumb just enough to reach a spot on her hip that he knew was ticklish.

“Ah!” she cried, jumping a little before breaking into a giggle. She tried to wiggle away, but the cramped space of the canoe meant she had nowhere to go. He motion did rock the craft a bit, forcing him to stop as they waited for it to settle.

“Careful there, we don’t wanna tip this thing,” he said.

“Hey, you’re the one who tickled me,” she replied, before leaning to whisper into his ear. “Besides, I bet you’re careful enough to have no trouble fooling around in this thing.” 

He chuckled a bit. “I’m good but I’m not that good. Besides I’ve heard only Canadians can make love in a canoe without falling in.” 

“Wanna test that theory?” she asked, with mischief in her eyes.

He paused, before replying, “I uh… I’d rather not tempt fate.” She could tell he was tempted but decided not to push the issue.

“Fair enough, I’m having plenty of fun here anyways.” She leaned over to kiss the edge of his jaw, just beside his ear, before whispering, “It helps that I know a couple of your sweet spots too.” Before he could react, she kissed lower down, right where his jaw met his neck. Instantly he let out a low groan, as the kiss made half his body tingle.

“Ohhhh Gwennnn,” he moaned softly. She had to stifle a giggle – it was so unlike the usually proper and polite David to make such a lewd noise, but that’s what made it all the better for her.

“That’s right Davey,” she whispered, “Though you’re usually a bit louder with that.”

“Sound carries more over water – didn’t want to be overheard,” he replied. “But don’t feel like you need to stop.”

She returned to that spot with more soft kisses, feeling his chest vibrate with each groan of bliss from him. In return he’d periodically tighten his grip on her behind, kneading the muscle underneath. He started to loose track of time, not knowing how long this carried on before Gwen moved her attention back to his mouth, letting each kiss linger, while he sometimes slipped his tongue in to explore a bit. She knew he liked to go slow and savour the moment, while he knew she enjoyed bold, confident moves. Put together they didn’t need to say a thing to convey what they enjoyed or wanted. It had taken a bit of time to get there, but practice had made perfect for them.

They were so distracted that they both jumped a bit when the canoe stopped dead with a thud. They looked up and saw the camp dock  - their drifting had brought them right back where they started. Neither had any idea how long they actually had been out on the lake, but it didn’t matter – it had been time well spent.

“Huh, guess my aim was better than I thought,” David said. “Unless you want to head back out again?”

“Nah, I had a great enough time already,” she said, climbing out of the canoe and unzipping her life jacket. “I’m ready to get into bed.”

“Alright, I’ll just take a minute to put this away and I’ll join you,” he said.

“Don’t take too long – tonight might be another night I can’t find my PJ’s and might need you to keep me warm,” she added with a wink, before starting her way back to the cabin. 

It was times like that that David was happy the canoe was light enough to put away quickly.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay I totally did not intend to take this long to put this out, (started writing it shortly after posting my first fic) but a busy summer didn’t leave much writing time. Compounding that was the fact that I ditched my original concept halfway through and redid it with the current idea for a canoe trip. Only thing that was really left was the very beginning but even that got an extensive re-tool. Despite everything, I’m happy how it turned out. Feel free to let me know what you thought in the comments!


End file.
